[iDC] SL, MIIM, knowledge and capital

[Alan Sondheim]

In regard to Scott's post below - anonymity is itself a desired feature in 
Second Life; when the MIT MOO (Media MOO think the name was) insisted on 
real life addresses to forestall anonymity, a great number of people left. 
PMC MOO had no such requirements, and grew accordingly. SL also has built- 
in voice, which people tend not to use - they want the fantasy and at 
least one person told me he deliberately avoids that sort of intimacy, 
even though he has 'real' and ongoing relationships in SL.

One might argue that SL is _less_ of a gimmick through anonymity, and, 
stretching it, that RL is more of one.

As far as mediocre content goes, that's in the eye of the beholder; most 
people who come into SL aren't really interested in edgy (or otherwise) 
content, but are there for the social and the sex, and there's nothing 
wrong with that. (Perhaps we are already too many artists.)

Finally, indeed great changes are taking place. But with closed source 
software at the heart of it, at least to date, SL is problematic in one 
very obvious way - the Linden mob can presumeably listen in anywhere. When 
I was a Wizard on a couple of MOOs, I was appalled at the power I had - 
the entire data base of course was transparent to me. Yet people make 
business deals, reveal all sorts of things on SL as if it were a seriously 
private domain. -

- Alan

On Mon, 6 Jul 2009, Scott Kildall wrote:

> Hi everyone,
>
> I wanted to respond to some of the postings regarding Second Life and the 
> ethical framework that Simon discusses and open up a conversation about 
> positive possibilities for future virtual worlds.
>
> As a long-time SL user, and public advocate and public critic, I would 
> suggest that the largest problem with creating a sustainable virtual space is 
> not the Linden dollar or the top-down structuring of interactions, but rather 
> the lack of accountability with anonymous avatars.
>
> The vision that Linden Labs first promoted is a psuedo-libertarian one: be 
> what you want to be, do what you want to do. Abide by terms-of-service (e.g. 
> no harassing other users, no trademark infringement) and has predictably 
> morphed into a guided-libertarian philosophy: no gambling, no virtual 
> banking, restrictions on sexual activity, etc., due to outcries in the press.
>
> And from this general promotional strategy by the company, a normative 
> behavior following beauty ideals of western society quickly emerged: many 
> avatars resemble exaggerated forms: young men with large muscular chests and 
> skinny women with huge breasts. This type of look is at the top of the totem 
> pole of what is considered popular. Next is regular-looking people, then 
> alien-like humanoids (e.g. green-skinned but walking upright), then 
> animal-humans, then animals and then anything abstract. I've found this very 
> disappointing, that Second Life is much like real life, or maybe just a 
> high-school version of it.
>
> This type of design has not emerged from the SL currency but rather as a 
> mirrored response of the culture of desire that exists in our capitalist 
> real-world. If be-what-you-want-to-be results in a skinnier, younger version 
> of your RL self, I'm pretty certain that a bottom-down approach to designing 
> a virtual world won't solve this problem of creating mediocre content. Its 
> like hoping for high-quality content on YouTube.
>
> Back to accountability: you have this in spaces such as Facebook,where the 
> service is popular because it links real people to real people. What would 
> happen in Second Life, if people were to make their real identities generally 
> known (right now, it is about 5-10% of the users that make their real IDs 
> public)?
>
> I think here is where some real bridges could be built. Stephanie's example 
> of skills-training for people with disabilities is a great one: where a 
> subculture exists that is literally connecting people with disabilities to 
> those that don't. But, under anonymous identification, Second Life still 
> seems to be a gimmick and one that creates a social veil which only select 
> people will want to get inside of.
>
> I'm not sure how this comes back to labor in Second Life, which is the topic 
> that I'm more interested in dissecting. And in this respect, I haven't even 
> gotten into the No Matter project which is one that directly addresses labor 
> issues by creating RL sculptures of 'imaginary objects' through Second Life, 
> but I'll save this for a different posting.
>
> In the meantime, I'd like to hear from others what role they see anonymity 
> playing in virtual worlds with respect to sustainability (i.e. the future of) 
> and labor relations.
>
> Best,
>
> Scott Kildall
> www.kildall.com
> www.nomatter.org
>
> On Jul 3, 2009, at 10:59 PM, Stephanie Rothenberg wrote:
>
>> Hi Mez and Simon,
>> 
>> I agree that for the most part SL's underpinnings epitomize a capitalist 
>> system and maybe it doesn't have a future – at least within the vision of 
>> this list or does it?
>> 
>> I'm curious about Linden's push towards open source which has been more 
>> visible over the past year or so with it's open source viewer that can 
>> reside on any server as well as the very recent launch of the "Snowglobe" 
>> viewer that is connected to the main grid. Beneath the utopian rhetoric of 
>> their public agenda it is pretty obvious their real corporate intention. 
>> Yet I still wonder if there is potential for more democratized virtual 
>> interaction by enabling access to Linden's code in conjunction with the 
>> ability for users to network on their own servers?
>> 
>> There are great things happening in SL which I'm sure have been mentioned 
>> on this prolific and somewhat overwhelming listserv over the past month 
>> when groups carve out their own "niche" within Linden's somewhat cowboy 
>> capitalist regime. For example, Virtual Ability, an organization that 
>> provides skills training inworld for people with disabilities and hundreds 
>> of other groups like them leveraging the environment for positive 
>> innovative collaborative possibilities.
>> 
>> On another note there is Raph Koster's "Metaplace" (mentioned already?) 
>> whose mission is avatar self-governance and tagline is "adopting the Rights 
>> of Avatars for your TOS". It seems to be making some headway but it's 
>> graphical interface isn't quite up to speed compared to the scintillating 
>> spectacular sunsets of SL.
>> 
>> "What if you lived in a world where shaking hands was impossible?
>> A world where you couldn't even hug your best friends?
>> A world without love... what kind of pixelated life would that be?
>> 
>> Sadly, such a world exists today - in Metaplace.
>> 
>> But we can - we must - do better.
>> Ask for avatar hug emotes in Metaplace - and show the love!
>> this is a paid political ad sponsored by the Committee of Concerned 
>> Metaplace Players
>> 
>> Posted by SLHerald on June 19, 2009 at 03:22 PM"
>> 
>> We all like ice cream (soy for the lactose intolerant) so Is a hybrid in 
>> the works? a SecondPlace?
>> 
>> out of the lurk,
>> Stephanie
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> On Jun 29, 2009, at 12:36 PM, Simon Biggs wrote:
>> 
>>> Hi Mez
>>> 
>>> The key points you raise that link to those I was making concern user 
>>> identity and economy.
>>> 
>>> I wasn’t aware of the Linden ban on gambling – but it makes sense. It is 
>>> illegal in most countries. I know it is legal in some US states but then 
>>> not in others. Personally I think gambling is an activity where people, 
>>> who should know better (but don’t) or those who are vulnerable, are 
>>> exploited by others. As such it is in my view improper behaviour by one 
>>> human to another. However, banning things is not the best method for 
>>> controlling them. There are other methods.
>>> 
>>> My view is that the entire capitalist system is a form of gambling. Not 
>>> only because excess value is produced through speculation and slight of 
>>> hand but mainly because it depends on the exploitation of one group by 
>>> another. In my ideal world I would ban these things – if I thought banning 
>>> them would work. As Stalin proved, it doesn’t. Russia still has religion 
>>> (I’d ban that too).
>>> 
>>> Anyway, the point is that for many people the ethical framework that 
>>> underpins SL is completely intolerable, whether they be, for example, a 
>>> strict muslim, a feminist-seperatist, a luddite or a socialist. When the 
>>> Linden Dollar was created is when SL became fundamentally problematic. SL 
>>> employs a top-down design model for determining how people interact and 
>>> that is where it’s problems begin. That is why I am arguing it doesn’t 
>>> have a future. Something similar but with a bottom-up design model is far 
>>> more likely to be acceptable and useful to a broader range of people as an 
>>> infrastructure for mass virtual interaction.
>>> 
>>> I didn’t know about the SL bestiality ban. People are interesting, aren’t 
>>> they...
>>> 
>>> Regards
>>> 
>>> Simon
>>> 
>>> Simon Biggs
>>> Research Professor
>>> edinburgh college of art
>>> s.biggs at eca.ac.uk
>>> www.eca.ac.uk
>>> www.eca.ac.uk/circle/
>>> 
>>> simon at littlepig.org.uk
>>> www.littlepig.org.uk
>>> AIM/Skype: simonbiggsuk
>>> 
>>> 
>>> From: mez breeze <netwurker at gmail.com>
>>> Date: Mon, 29 Jun 2009 21:01:20 +1000
>>> To: Simon Biggs <s.biggs at eca.ac.uk>
>>> Cc: idc <idc at mailman.thing.net>
>>> Subject: Re: [iDC] SL, MIIM, knowledge and capital
>>> 
>>> Occasionally I break my IDC silence to engage beyond lurkerdom.
>>> Consider this a re-hello from me. I'm the founding editor of
>>> _Augmentology 1[L]0[L]1_,  a: "...working manual discussing the
>>> formation and evolution of synthetic environments". Thought I'd leap
>>> in here with a blast-from-the-[2007]past in relation to Simon's post
>>> regarding MIIMs....
>>> 
>>> 
>>> On Mon, Jun 29, 2009 at 7:17 PM, Simon Biggs<s.biggs at eca.ac.uk> wrote:
>>>> I think SL is an extremely interesting model which portends the 
>>>> development
>>>> of further examples of massively immersive interaction media (let’s call 
>>>> it
>>>> MIIM - I find the MMORPG concept, with its focus on games and role 
>>>> playing,
>>>> limited – I do neither in SL). Somebody asked me the other day whether I
>>>> thought SL is the future. I replied that I didn’t but that it was a
>>>> prototype of what could become the future. If I think MIIM has a future 
>>>> then
>>>> why don’t I think SL has one too?
>>> 
>>> Hi Simon,
>>> 
>>> You raise extremely focused points in regards to the conceptualisation
>>> of "massively immersive" platforms. I attempted to tackle this topic a
>>> few years back on the empyre list - as the points are still relevant
>>> so I'll slab it here for you [and other IDCer's]:
>>> 
>>> "# To: soft_skinned_space <empyre at lists.cofa.unsw.edu.au>
>>> # Subject: [-empyre-] charavatars + fauxtectures: SL limitations
>>> # From: "mez breeze" <netwurker at gmail.com>
>>> # Date: Tue, 14 Aug 2007 11:22:31 +1000
>>> 
>>> 
>>> hey all.
>>> 
>>> here are some notes from a piece i'm working on for my next
>>> Twitter_Theory project 2 do with engagement within networked
>>> alternative environments such as Second Life [SL] and World of
>>> Warcraft [WoW]. I'm a dedicated WoW player + have been for a few years
>>> now whereas my involvement in SL has been fairly minimal [more about
>>> that later].
>>> 
>>> b4 i start to launch in2 a few ideas regarding MMOEs [Massive
>>> Multiplayer Online Environments] + in SL in particular, i'd like to
>>> explain 3 terms|concepts i've developed in relation to MMOE
>>> participation:
>>> 
>>> 1. the 1st is the idea of an player-entity as  _charavatar_: ie a mix
>>> of a fictionalised character concept that actualises in terms of a
>>> projected persona [ie a mechanical|visual shell that houses ego (via
>>> imagined transmission)], character encoding [in the code page|charset
>>> sense], and the willing suspension of disbelief required 4 seamless
>>> avatar adoption. the notion of a charavatar lends a validity 2
>>> in_world MMOE experiences rather than the mainstream ideal of
>>> avatar-as-basic-ego-projection via a similar psychological skin.
>>> 
>>> 2. the notion that a MMOE's functional architecture [including server
>>> setup + performance, actual manifestation of the world's
>>> descriptors|modifiers|engines used, usability, scalability +
>>> reliability of it's "reality" flow] can be rethought as _fauxtecture_.
>>> 
>>> 3. a fundamental shift in relation 2 personality + identity
>>> constructions across networked channels such as social networks +
>>> MMOE's [i've recently completed an article for furtherfield which
>>> details participants in these cross_profile systems are now
>>> _versionals_:
>>> 
>>> "In digitized social networks there is no place for psychologically
>>> defined notions of personality as a cohesive, definable whole.
>>> Identity manifests through notational distributions found in multiple
>>> profiles across various platforms. Ego-mediated variables are replaced
>>> with actuated identity markers defined by the ability to establish
>>> links to others likewise devoid of any traditional geophysical
>>> baggage. For these articulated identities [now known as versionals]
>>> connection is the vital point of communication; not the content, not
>>> the geophysical inflection, not the biologically-saturated ties linked
>>> to survival, competition, and traditional concrete community building.
>>> This method of clustered distribution provokes a type of reality lag
>>> found in capitalistic and ideologically frameworked nations; those
>>> devoted to maintaining established notions of individuals definable by
>>> consumerism and Darwinian drives, monetary wealth,
>>> institution-adherence, and paranoid-inducing security."]
>>> 
>>> in SL in particular i've noticed many charavatar's seem unable 2 find
>>> an initial reasonable engagement|interaction lvl, with the result that
>>> participation hovers between a type of frustrated passivity +
>>> non_existence after 1st forays in2 the world [continued participation
>>> rates are low + drop-off rates high].
>>> 
>>> as others have alluded 2 onlist, i c this problem as resulting from a
>>> combination of variables that stem essentially from the overarching SL
>>> fauxtecture being economically driven + geophysically emulated at base
>>> lvl + the corresponding intrusion of 1st-world corporates attempting
>>> to capitalize on this. Linden Labs have recently made fundamental SL
>>> changes [due 2 rising conservative disquiet] by censoring|altering
>>> fundamental aspects of SL functioning, such as:
>>> 
>>> a) the ban on gambling:
>>> http://blog.secondlife.com/2007/07/25/wagering-in-second-life-new-policy/
>>> +
>>> b) outlawing certain types of sexual behaviours [eg furry_sex_play
>>> deemed bestiality]:
>>> http://terranova.blogs.com/terra_nova/2007/06/censoring_sexua.html
>>> 
>>> this artificial god_like intervention in2 operating MMOE_mechanics has
>>> provoked corresponding detrimental domino effects + spawned SL
>>> Bubble/Impending Hype Crash talk:
>>> http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/jitters-in-second-life-as-bank-shuts-doors/2007/08/10/1186530581488.html
>>> http://conversationstarter.hbsp.com/2007/07/the_demise_of_second_life.html
>>> http://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/magazine/15-08/ff_sheep
>>> 
>>> my concern is the precedence this sets in terms of future conceptions
>>> of alternative reality platforms. although these changes _shouldn't_
>>> have obvious detrimental effects concerning artists|griefers
>>> endeavours|experiments, my concern is that as SL's underpinings are
>>> created along a capitalistic|cartesian axis, the effect on grassroot
>>> MMOE charavatar's ability 2 maintain an allegiance|adherence 2 the
>>> world + the communities formed there will influence this range of
>>> experimentation [cross-terra(plat)forming seems the most interesting
>>> angle 2 pursue instead]. SL artists|code.performers risk becoming
>>> ghettoised, with less manipulation of teleprescence/glitches/gaps or
>>> worse, their actions being channelled thru stratified, Linden
>>> Lab-restricted categories as the fauxtecture crumbles in2
>>> geophysically-governed detrius - a sign of frozen output. tiering may
>>> even promote a voyeur experience that echos passive
>>> relays|documentation rather than current|'live' MMOE participation.
>>> 
>>> this [in part] has influenced my creative decision 2 play|express
>>> within technically sophisticated MMOE environments like WoW + combine
>>> this with soc_net experimentation. WoW is a commercial venture +
>>> unashamedly so...on the other hand, SL gives an illusion of functional
>>> freedom that is becoming increasingly restrictive. i'm reluctant 2 let
>>> my own x.pressions become exclusive via platform_tethering + thus
>>> operate more as clusters|mashups of versional output [ref: description
>>> above]. 4 eg, my recent combo of Twitter+WoW channelling called
>>> _Twittermixing_ which remixed prefound identity marker texts from live
>>> charavatar actions in World of Warcraft with aggregated Twitter
>>> streaming.
>>> 
>>> chunks,
>>> mez"
>>> 
>>> 
>>> -- 
>>> Reality Engineer>
>>> Synthetic Environment Strategist>
>>> Game[r + ] Theorist.
>>> ::http://unhub.com/netwurker ::
>>> 
>>> Edinburgh College of Art (eca) is a charity registered in Scotland, number 
>>> SC009201
>>> 
>>> 
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>> 
>> Stephanie Rothenberg
>> Assistant Professor
>> Department of Visual Studies
>> University at Buffalo
>> 
>> ************************
>> stephanie at pan-o-matic.com
>> www.pan-o-matic.com
>> 
>> ************************
>> 
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>



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